Lubbock-Cooper employees save former Tech all-American's life

Wednesday

Oct 4, 2017 at 8:35 PM

Don Williams

Dan Irons was one of the most decorated Texas Tech offensive linemen ever. Now, luckily for him and the people who love him, he has more time to trade stories about his role in a golden era for Tech football.

Deb Irons credits Lubbock-Cooper school officials and first responders for saving her husband’s life when he collapsed Monday afternoon on school grounds with a heart attack. The 62-year-old former Tech tackle is expected to be discharged Thursday from University Medical Center, his wife said, three days after surviving a grim situation.

"They said he died for 10 minutes," Deb Irons said Wednesday. "Lubbock-Cooper saved his life, and that school district, I’m so impressed with how they handled the whole situation. Dan, the nurse just told us, is a walking miracle. He’s going to be discharged tomorrow. There is no damage to his heart, the doctor told us, and he’s doing great."

Irons, a longtime Midland resident, is a sales representative for Lone Star Furnishings, a furniture and equipment supplier to schools. He was to meet with Lubbock-Cooper officials at 1:30 p.m. Monday. The meeting was delayed to 2 p.m. and Irons was stricken in the parking lot of the school’s administration building about 1:35 p.m., his wife said.

Former Pirates football coach John Windham drove up to see Irons lying unconscious, used his cell phone to call for help and started CPR. Emergency personnel, including members of the school’s police department and nursing staff, arrived shortly after and continued life-saving measures.

Lubbock-Cooper ISD Police Capt. Chris Alderson confirmed other witness accounts that a defibrillator was used four times to restart Irons’ heart.

"They didn’t think the fourth time was going to work," Deb Irons said, "and they had the whole office praying for Dan, and after that fourth one, they were about to do a fifth and he started breathing."

Irons was transported to UMC, where doctors later Monday found a 99 percent blockage in one artery and inserted a stent via his groin.

Lubbock-Cooper ISD Superintendent Keith Bryant also was one of the first on the scene.

"By the time EMS arrived, he was breathing and had a heartbeat back," Bryant said. "I will say that our folks did a great job doing CPR, performing it really by the book — according to the EMTs and the hospital, everything the way that you’re trained to do it."

Irons, 6-foot-7 and 260 pounds in his playing days, was a consensus all-Southwest Conference tackle in 1976, when Tech started 8-0, reached No. 5 in the national rankings, and finished 10-2. His reputation was such that he was a consensus all-America honoree in 1977 despite missing time with a knee injury.

In 2015, on the occasion of Tech’s 1,000th game, Irons was a first-team selection on the A-J’s all-time Tech team. He was inducted into the Tech Hall of Fame in 1999, the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Lubbock ISD Hall of Honor in 2016. Lubbock’s Irons Middle School is named for his father, former Lubbock ISD schools Superintendent Ed Irons.

Dan Irons was a standout at Monterey in football, basketball, for which he also was recruited, and tennis.

Windham, the school’s director of special projects, said it was only by chance he happened to be near the administration building after lunch. Normally at that time, he’s out at construction sites, but he had to return for something he’d forgotten.

"So it was a miracle I happened to be driving by the central office at that time," Windham said. "I’m just thankful I was driving by central office at that time, because I don’t know how long he would have been in the parking lot."

Windham called Lubbock-Cooper ISD Police Chief Rick Saldana at 1:46 p.m, and Alderson said Saldana put out a radio call for officers to respond. Alderson said he arrived to find Windham doing CPR and retrieved the automated external defibrillator from his patrol unit after assessing Irons with no pulse and not breathing.